Top 10 Trendsetters Of SEMA 2012

The SEMA Show is the automotive performance industry’s most important yearly shindig—a trade-show gathering of parts manufacturers and car builders representing every kink in the gearhead world. It’s where business gets done, it’s the launching point for thousands of new products, and it has become one of the nation’s most interesting and diverse car shows. The project cars on display are advocates of the newest components and styles in the niches of hot rods, muscle cars, imports, street trucks, and 4x4s.

At HOT ROD, we look at the SEMA Show as an indicator of trends coming and going, and staffers walk the aisles looking for consistent themes in the creations of car builders nationwide. Here we present the fruit of this year’s hunt, compiled with help from Rob Einaudi and Jen Dunnaway from our sister site, Autoholics.com. See hundreds more photos by searching “SEMA 2012” within the blogs at HOTROD.com.

Revisionist Racing History

What if Gulf had sponsored a Bronco instead of the GT40? What if Martini had added a ’65 Mustang to its Le Mans team? We’re seeing the classic racing liveries on unexpected models. It’s been Los Angeles–based builder Steve Strope’s inspiration for many years, but we spied it spread across the show this year. It’s risky to ride a legend, but we think the Pure Vision Martini Mustang pulls off the cocktail stripes with appropriate shaken-not-stirred cool. This is an upcoming HOT ROD feature car.

1/10

Pro Touring Trucks

We saw no less than five ’67–’72 Chevy trucks—and one Blazer—built in a Pro Touring style. Three competed in the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, Hotchkis Sport Suspension had one, and others were scattered throughout the show on lowered suspensions, big sway bars, and massive brakes. The editors over at Truckin’ magazine have been trying to get classic truck owners to put their rides on the track for the past few years, so they saw this one coming.

2/10

Subtle Perfection

How do you stand out amidst the excess of the SEMA Show? Dimple-died panels and handformed frame details, Olympic swimming pool–deep black paint, perfect stance, and an aluminum Rodeck 350. Oh, and the bumpers are inset and customized, the dash and instruments are one-off, and the whole thing is so reflective we couldn’t get a decent photo from any angle. You’ll have to trust us, this ’56 by Kemp’s Rod and Restoration is a trend we want to see more of. Shall we call it “craftsmanship”?

3/10

Engine Setback

This is nothing new for a race car, but it is an emerging trend for hot rods. Physically moving the engine back farther into the car creates better weight distribution, which equals better handling. Built by East Bay Muscle Cars, this ’69 Camaro has the ideal 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution, thanks in large part to its LS3’s setback into the firewall. Weighing in at 3,500 pounds with a 630hp Mast Motorsports engine, the car would be a monster on the track.

4/10

Hood Louvers

A few years ago it was NACA ducts, now this year the trend is louvers. Eckert’s Rod and Custom Shop’s mid-engine Mach 40 ’69 Mustang uses a Whipple-blown 5.4L and transaxle from a Ford GT. With no engine up front and 850 hp to keep cool, heat extractors in the hood are necessary on the Mach 40 for the forward-mounted radiator, but it’s not the only example we saw at the show. See the full story on this radical Mustang next month.

5/10

High-Powered Raptors

The Ford Raptor is almost single-handedly responsible for creating an aftermarket for the 6.2L V8, and this year’s show was full of forced-induction Raptors with extra power for even more off-road fun. This one uses a Roush supercharger that’s good for 590 hp, and Roush teamed up with Greg Biffle to build one for Sherwin-Williams Planet Color All-Star Charity Challenge.

6/10

4-Digit-Horsepower Show Cars

It’s not enough anymore to just have an awesome show car. You now need huge horsepower numbers to go along with the shiny paint and clean interior, and twin turbos are to now as 8-71 blowers were to 1989. The ’12 Ridler-award-winning ’55 Thunderbird is a prime example. Built by Dwayne Peace, the Thunderbird is powered by a twin-turbo Chevy 370-incher (a stroked 350) built by Banks Power, and yeah, that engine package is rated up to 1,100 hp.

7/10

Street-Legal NASCAR Technology

Building a street-legal classic on a race car rolling stock has always been popular in parts of the country, but now that we’re seeing it at SEMA, we’re expecting this trend to expand beyond the regional. This totally streetable ’64 Plymouth Belvedere, designed by NASCAR legend Ray Evernham on a Car of Tomorrow superspeedway chassis and drivetrain, references stock-car racing roots while incorporating the most up-to-the-minute NASCAR tech, including its new EFI setup. See the full story on page 46.

8/10

Pro Work Truck

We’ve been seeing plenty of jacked-up, classic crew-cab rigs that combine monster torque and hauling capacity with creature comforts and highway manners. Jonathan Ward of ICON is spearheading this trend with this ultrarefined Dodge Power Wagon, built on modern Ram underpinnings with a Banks-tuned Cummins turbodiesel putting out 975 lb-ft of torque.

9/10

50 Shades of Gray

It’s not silver. It’s not gunmetal. It’s not metallic at all. It’s a glossy, subtle shade ranging from light battleship to licheny gray-green. It’s the perfect antidote for a highway excess of appliance white and matte-finish charcoal. We like it and we saw it on everything from ’30s Chevys to modern imports. This ’68 is only very slightly gray; it’s the Apollo Camaro built by Pratt & Miller.